Blur Aston Villa Leisure Centre 5th October 1994

 

Now, so arguably the second biggest band to be associated with Britpop, Blur. Early on I thought they were great. Certainly, 'Modern Life Is Rubbish' and 'Parklife' were great listens but I tired of them quite quickly. There were some good songs after those albums for sure, 'Song 2' is a classic, but other singles whilst OK did not live up to my expectations. 'Charmless Man' for example tried to borrow something from the Ray Davies penned 'A Well Respected Man' but not as well, whilst 'Country House', the song that went head to head with Oasis's 'Roll With It' in a race to be top of the pops had the feel of a novelty song to me.

Whatever my thoughts about Blur, I have to admire the diversity of projects that Damon has got involved with over the intervening years, Gorillaz, The Good, The Bad & The Queen etc. 

Anyway, here they are at their peak in my eyes, from a time when everyone was thinking about their 'Pork Life'. 

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-1rH8EcyEu8

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-zV8owMmns9

This Is Britpop At The BBC

 

A bit of a departure here for which I make no apologies. I am of an awkward age. Too young for punk in its prime, I saw those bands either late in the day or at the point that their initial animosities had sufficiently abated to allow them one again to share the same stage. In between there was a musical vacuum in the UK. Just horrible.

That changed a bit in 1994/95 with the appearance of a number of young bands that put guitar, drum and bass at the forefront of their material once more. The music press ever keen to pigeonhole a scene labelled these bands Britpop and the rest is history.

For my part there was one band that got my pulse racing and that was Elastica. I loved them, the sheer neck of the band! Listen to most bands and you can recognise their influences. With Elastica, it was possible to take that to the next level... influence per song. But no matter, they were just brilliant. They had it all, the look, the sound and the attitude. 'Martens and leggings' in Owen's words!

In some ways, Britpop was the next 'punk' revolution... like its older '77 cousin, it was intense, much hyped in the press and very short lived. And yet, as was the case with punk, most of the bands involved are viewed 30 years on with great affection.

The eagle eyed amongst you may well spot an honorary Wingman.

DVD Image: https://we.tl/t-AQCc8kTcdh

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-RSl9wsEok5

Blur Mr. Albarn's Combo

What with Blur being hot news once again on the back of the new album, 'The Magic Whip', here's some vintage Blur primarily from the 'Parklife' era back when Brit Pop was king.

FLAC: http://we.tl/WTxwCIx6Ew

Artwork: http://we.tl/Alficgom2H

01. She's So High
02. Popscene
03. Chemical World
04. Parklife
05. To The End
06. Bank Holiday
07. Jubilee
08. Girls & Boys
09. Badhead
10. Tracy Jacks
11. For Tomorrow (Extended)
12. Parklife
13. Top Man
14. Mr. Robinson's Quango
15. Charmless Man
16. It Could Be You
17. Stereotypes
18. Country House
19. The Universal

Tracks 1 & 2 are from Blur-ti-go promo CD
Track 3 live on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, 1993
Track 4 live on Simon Mayo, Aug 1994
Track 5 live at Glastonbury Festival, 1994
Tracks 6 & 12 live on Jools Holland Hootenanny, Dec 1994
Track 7 live on Top of the Pops, Feb 1995
Track 8 live on Nulle Part Ailleurs, 29 Aug 1994
Tracks 9-11 live at National Bowl, Milton Keynes, 29 Jul 1995
Tracks 13-19 live at BBC Radio Theatre, London, 7 Sep 1995